Newspaper cited for emphasis on local news

Telegraph, Daily Gazette win 18 awards in contest

A pedestrian walks past the frosty window of Air Play Sports & Espresso in Sterling on the morning of Friday, Feb. 1, 2013. This photo not only captured the chill of the winter's cold snap. It also snapped up a second-place award for SVM's photo chief at the Associated Press Media Editors awards, which were given out at a luncheon Thursday.

By STAFF REPORT
news@saukvalley.com
800-798-4085, ext. 5501

SPRINGFIELD – Sauk Valley Media was cited for a front page that “consistently contained nothing but well-written local stories” by judges who, for the second year in a row, gave the newspaper the General Excellence award as best mid-size daily in the state.

The award was among 18 honors the Telegraph and Daily Gazette received Thursday during the annual awards luncheon of the Illinois Associated Press Media Editors. Those included seven awards for first place.

Judges lauded three newspapers in the General Excellence competition for their emphasis on local news.

“These three newspapers fulfill the most important mission of a community newspaper, which is to focus on the community they are in and put their emphasis on local people and issues,” judges said. “The Telegraph did this a little better than the others.”

It was the third time in the past 5 years that Sauk Valley Media has won the General Excellence award in the statewide competition among newspapers with a circulation of 15,000 to 40,000. Judging for General Excellence is based on an evaluation of the entire newspaper on dates randomly selected by contest organizers.

Other first-place awards (with judges’ comments) were won by:

• Matt Mencarini for investigative reporting, for his examination of spending practices in the Ogle County sheriff’s office. The reporting also won second place in editorial sweepstakes, which judges all first-place winners in the contest. An excellent job of holding the sheriff accountable on questionable expenses. Multi-story installments and breakout boxes detailing the expenses especially gave this one the edge.

• Christopher Heimerman for public service, for his series “The Naturals,” about improving personal nutrition. The most readable and engaging entry in this category, I admire the open dialogue Christopher Heimerman shared with his readers and his willingness to get personal with them. Clearly written and informative, this is a nice collection of first person columns and stories about community residents struggling with the same fitness issues. Informative without getting preachy.